Still recovering from a big nomination
Issue #2
Sending this out on the last day of the month? Even though I’ve had it written for weeks? Yes. It’s still November 😌
If you’re an artist or band and you’re reading this, consider sending me your music for a potential feature in a future issue. And keep your eye out for a rebrand soon — I prefer to lurk in the shadows rather than have my name in the title of something.
With that, let’s get into issue #2!
This Month’s Issue:
The Playlist: Rock and pop and video game music
Behind the Mix: Sidechaining explained
At My Desk: Game Award nomination, film festival update, my new single, and new podcast episodes
Quote of the Month
The Playlist
I’ve discovered a ton of new music in the last month and returned to some old favourites as well. Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…
Bad Omens: I’m really not sure how this band hasn’t been on my radar until this year, but I’ve had them on repeat lately. Their latest album’s titular song was the first one I heard and it’s since become one of my favourites from them, though the entire album is a fantastic listen. Their use of guitars mixed with dark synths has become their signature style and it makes their guitars feel that much bigger.
Sleep Theory: Good old TikTok helped me discover this band. All of their music on streaming platforms has been released this year, despite the band being formed in 2019. I’m glad they pushed through 4 years of finding their sound - and getting signed to Epitaph Records - to get to where they are today. Their EP features massive guitars and is a must-listen for metal fans.
Lazuli Mood: Our first repeat artist. I couldn’t help it. Her music is just so, so full of honesty. Prolific in the last quarter of this year, Lazuli Mood recently released another single, “The Feeling”, an ode to trying to get back in touch with your inner child. Her vocals, as always, pull you in and keep you there for repeat listens. I have a feeling 2024 is going to be her year.
Emma Alves & Grace Chiang: TikTok serendipity connected me to Emma Alves a couple of years ago, and I’ve been a fan ever since the release of “Archenemy”. Emma’s smooth vocals make “Never Mine” a must-listen, especially when combined with producer Grace Chiang’s thoughtful, smooth, synth-heavy instrumentation. A pinch of melancholy lyrics ties this single up nicely with a pensive, solemn bow.
Unleash the Archers: A band from my home country of Canada, Unleash the Archers’ melodic, anthemic style is addicting. A genre-bending metal band, Unleash the Archers’ “Soulbound” features strong vocals, big guitars, solos, screams, and a spirit of defiance. The melodies will keep you humming it long after your first (and 100th) listen. I count “Abyss” as one of my favourites as well.
Spiritbox: Another band from the Great White North, Spiritbox writes haunting metal music. Their guitar riffs are catchy and memorable. Though I only discovered them this year, I’m already hooked and am excited to keep sinking my teeth into their impressive discography.
Rachel AO: I’ve been training my Instagram algorithm to send me music I might like, and when “Demons” was shown to me, I knew I was on track. Rachel AO’s lyrics are beautifully complemented by the heart and control in her voice, which takes centre stage in “Demons”. I’m keen to see what she releases next, but until then, I’ll be listening to this on repeat.
AARYS: A fellow Torontonian, one listen of AARYS’ music and you know you’ve stumbled on something special. Featuring crispy vocals and ever-evolving instrumentation, “Augusta” has been stuck in my head more times than I cant count this year. “Talk’” was the first AARYS song I ever heard, and I can’t wait to see what future releases are in store for us.
Keiichi Okabe: I played NieR: Automata 2 Octobers ago, and when it finished downloading onto my PlayStation, “Copied City” started playing. It hooked me in immediately and set the tone for the next 35 hours of curiosity, clashing, and, well, crying. Despite an incredible soundtrack that I can listen to front-to-back without hesitation, “Copied City” is easily my favourite song in the game, and I hope you check it out, too.
Cody Matthew Johnson & Shim: Resident Evil 2 is a fantastic survival-horror game, and when you get to the true ending, you get to hear this absolute banger that Leon Kennedy listens to in his car at the very beginning of the game (a nice little call back). “Saudade”, borrowed from Portuguese and meaning a feeling of longing, nostalgia, and a melancholic feeling of incompleteness, perfectly describes the ending of RE2. I love this song so much.
Behind the Mix:
In the last issue, we spoke about using sends and returns to apply reverb to vocals, instead of placing a reverb plugin onto the vocal track itself (you can read more about it all here).
The natural continuation of this topic is sidechain compression, and that’s exactly what we’re talking about this month.
Sidechaining is when one sound triggers a compressor to control the level of a another sound (or one of its frequency ranges).
Whenever we talk about sidechaining in music production, most people will talk about using it to lower the level of your bass, or temporarily “move your bass out of the way” and make room for your percussion’s kick to hit cleanly, since the two tend to have a healthy overlap in frequency ranges.
That said, sidechaining has plenty of use cases. Using sidechain on your reverb so that it moves out of the way when your lead vocal comes in is an easy way to get more clarity out of your vocals. Otherwise, your singer might sound drowned out, especially if you’re using a large room reverb. What’s nice about sidechaining is that the reverb tail will stick around at the end of sentences when the vocalist is taking a break in the song. Having the reverb find itself a bigger place in the mix when the vocalist isn’t singing can also help the song feel more “full”.
If you’d like to see a more in-depth tutorial for sidechaining, check out Joey Sturgis’ video here. The idea applies for the relationship between any 2 tracks – whether that’s kick and bass, guitar and snare, guitar and vocals, reverb and vocals, or anything else.
At My Desk
God of Rock Nominated for a Game Award: I’m still astonished at this news. We’ve been nominated for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards alongside household names like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. I always thought this was an elusive goal, but I’m so excited to watch the awards as a nominee on December 7th. You can vote for your Game Awards picks here.
Unhinged is an official selection at Toronto Shorts International Film Festival: I led music, production, and casting for this film, and I’m so excited to announce that it’ll be premiering in my hometown next month. If you’re in Toronto and want to grab tickets to the festival, you can do that here.
Witness: My latest single, ‘Witness”, came out this month and I’m so excited to finally have it out in the world. My most challenging project to mix yet, it features over 40 vocal layers and lots of guitars. If you take a listen, let me know what it reminded you of.
Quest Markers: 3 new episodes have been release since the last issue (!). The NieR: Automata episode is my second solo one, and I gush endlessly over how much I love that game. Author Thomas Roland joined me for a special Halloween episode on Resident Evil — and he spoke so eloquently about what it means to be your own saviour in a horror game. Lastly, my friend Kinsey joined us for an episode on my favourite Zelda game, Majora’s Mask, and we got weepy about Link’s journey through the lands of Termina.
Quote
“If you went back and fixed all the mistakes you’ve ever made, you would erase yourself”
- Unknown
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for being here! If you have any feedback or music suggestions or anything else you want to say, you can use this Google form and anonymously share it with me.
Thank you for reading!
Do something nice for yourself today and stay hydrated, friends. See ya next time. 🤍